Four problems related to steering pinion shaft have been reported for the 2004 Toyota Sienna. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2004 Toyota Sienna based on all problems reported for the 2004 Sienna.
I experienced significant difficulty (stiffness, lack of responsiveness) in the power steering of my 2004 Toyota Sienna. Subsequent examination by my dealership revealed that both the steering rack and pinion and the intermediate steering shaft needed to be replaced. The minivan has only 51,000 miles.
Steering suddenly began to bind when turning at low speed and increasing difficult to steer, especially in cold temperatures. Dealership found rusting knuckles on steering shaft and installed new shaft. Vehicle had only 42,000 miles. Never had a problem like this with 2 previous Toyotas, one of them eleven years old! very unsafe and expensive to repair. My opinion Toyota should recall.
I began experiencing a stiffness in my power steering on 12-15-08. I checked the power steering fluid level and it appeared to be low. I added a few ounces. Two days of driving later and there was no change. I took the van to the Toyota dealership today, 12-18-08, and they identified the problem as corrosion to the flex joint of the intermediate shaft of the power steering rack and pinion. They did tell me that the situation could degrade to the point where power steering could fail. Cost of repair was quoted as $500 plus $70 for related/required front-end alignment. The root cause was said to likely be water entering the seal of the joint, causing rust to form on/around the bearings. Other reports of road salt being the cause, seem to suggest that under-carriage cleaning would, in fact, prevent the corrosion. This dealers position is that the high-pressure spraying of the under-carriage was, itself, causing the corrosion to begin.
The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. While driving 5 mph, the contact noticed that the steering was tighter than normal. A repair shop checked the steering fluid level for leaks. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and they stated that the rack and pinion failed. The dealer replaced the rack and pinion at the cost of $1,500; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer and they stated that the failure could be due to the intermediate shaft pump. A report was filed with the manufacturer. The manufacturer stated that there was no TSB to explain how to repair the vehicle. The failure mileage was 41,000 and current mileage was 41,500.